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Elementary
Grammar reference Basic 01 The family
Verb to be
I ’m in India. He ’s a taxi driver. We ’re students.
The verb to be form
We often use the contraction.
positive
contraction full form I ’m Spanish. I am Spanish. He She It ’s He She It is We You They ’re We You They are
negative
contraction full form I ’m not Spanish. I am not Spanish. He She It isn’t He She It is not We You They ’re not We You They are not To form questions, we put the verb to be before I, you, she, etc. We don’t use contractions with positive answers.
questions
Am I Spanish? Is he she it Are we you they Sometimes we start the question with a question word. Where am I? Why is he late? Where is it? How are you? What’s your name?
positive negative
Yes, I am. No, I ’m not. he she it is. he she it isn’t. we you they are. we you they aren’t.
Elementary
Grammar reference Basic 01 A day in the life
Present simple
We use the present simple to talk about:
- facts that are always true I have two children.
- habits and routines I walk to work every day.
Present simple form
positive
I work. He She It works. We You They work.
spelling rules for he / she / it
Most verbs + -s I work ➞ He works I play ➞ She plays I live ➞ He lives Verbs that end in -s, -sh, or -ch + -es I watch ➞ She watches I finish ➞ He finishes go / do + -es I go ➞ He goes I do ➞ She does Verbs that end in a consonant + y y -ies I study ➞ He studies I fly ➞ It flies have I have ➞ She has To form the negative, we use don’t ( do not ) and doesn’t ( does not ).
negative
I don’t work. He She It doesn’t work. We You They don’t work.
Elementary
Grammar reference Basic 02 The home
There is/There are
We use there is with singular nouns and there are with plural nouns.
There is/There are form
Positive (+) Negative (–)
There’s a sofa. There isn’t a shower. There are some chairs. There aren’t any chairs.
Questions (?) Short answers
Is there a toilet? Yes , there is. / No, there isn’t. Are there any chairs? Yes, there are. /No, there aren’t. We often use positive and negative contractions: there is ➞ there’s but NOT they’re there is not ➞ there isn’t there are not ➞ there aren’t We use there is/there are to say that someone or something exists somewhere. There’s a bathroom upstairs. There are two bathrooms in the house. We use there’s/there isn’t with singular nouns. There’s a sink in the bathroom, but there isn’t a shower. To make questions, we use Is there … or Are there …? Is there a washing machine? Are there any showers? We always use there’s/there are the first time we talk about the person, place or thing. The next time, we use it is/they are. There’s a fridge in the kitchen. It’s very big. There are two sinks, but they’re not working right now. We often use there’s/there are to describe places. In my bathroom, there’s a shower. In my living room, there are two sofas. In a list of things, we use there’s if the first word is singular, and there are if the first word is plural. In the flat, there’s a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. In the flat, there are two bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchen. In positive sentences, we usually use some or a number before plural nouns. There are some chairs in the dining room. There are six chairs in the dining room.
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Elementary
Grammar reference Module 4 The home (continued)
We usually use any before plural nouns in negative sentences and questions. Are there any sofas? No, there aren’t, and there aren’t any tables. ( =There are no sofas or tables .) We also use many before plural nouns in negative sentences, when we want to say there are fewer than we would like or expect. There aren’t many toilets in this restaurant. ( =There are some toilets, but not as many as I would like or expected .)
Elementary
Grammar reference Basic 03 The weather (continued)
Sometimes we start the question with a question word. Why are you making a cake? What are you doing? Whose shoes are you wearing?
spelling rules for the - ing form
Most verbs + -ing wear → wearing cook → cooking study → studying Verbs that end in -e -e + -ing write → writing smile → smiling One-syllable verbs: one vowel + one consonant double the consonant + -ing sit → sitting get → getting run → running
Elementary
Grammar reference Basic 03 The past
The past simple of be : was and were
Was and wasn’t (was not) are the past forms of is and isn’t. Were and weren’t (were not) are the past forms of are and aren’t.
The past simple of to be form
positive (+) negative (-)
I
he she Iit was at school.
I
he she it wasn’t at school. we you they were we you they wern’t
Yes/No questions (?) Short answers
Was
I
he she it (^) at school? Yes, I Yes, he Yes, she Yes, it was. No, I No, he No, she No, it wasn’t. Were we you they Yes, we Yes, you Yes, they were No, we No, you No, they wern’t. We often use was/were with past time expressions, e.g. last month, in 2015, 75 years ago, yesterday. She was at home three hours ago. It wasn’t raining yesterday. We use was/were with born. I was born in 1990.
Wh - questions
To make a Wh- question, we use a Wh- question word before was/were. The word order is the same as for Yes/No questions. What was his last meal? Why were they angry? When were you born?
Elementary
Grammar reference Basic 04 The history of sport
Past simple
Questions
We use the past simple to ask questions about finished actions in the past. Did the ancient Greeks enjoy sport Yes, they did. Was the first Olympic Games in ancient Greece? Yes, it was.
Form
To form past simple questions, we use did + infinitive.
questions
Did
I
work on Monday? he she it we you they
positive negative
Yes,
I
did. No,
I
didn’t. (did not) he she it he she it we you they we you they The verb be is different. We use was / were to ask questions.
questions
Was/ Were
I
at home? he she it we you they
positive negative
Yes,
I
was/ were. No,
I
wasn’t/ weren’t. (was not/ were not.) he she it he she it we you they we you they Sometimes we start the question with a question word. What did you study at university? Why was she in Rome?
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Elementary
Grammar reference Basic 04 The history of sport (continued)
Negatives
We didn’t cook dinner yesterday. We ate at a restaurant. He wasn’t very happy when he saw the football results.
Form
To form the negative of the past simple, we use didn’t + infinitive. I didn’t (did not) go. He She It We You They With the verb be, we use wasn’t / weren’t. I wasn’t/wern’t at the party. (was not/were not.) He She It We You They
Elementary
Grammar reference Basic 05 Buildings
Superlatives
We use superlative adjectives to compare a person or thing with a group. This building is tall. This building is taller. This building is the tallest. ( comparative ). ( superlative ).
Form
most short adjectives the + … -est old ➞ the oldest small ➞ the smallest short adjectives that end in -e the + … -st nice ➞ the nicest large ➞ the largest short adjectives that end in one vowel + one consonant the + (double the consonant) … -est big ➞ the biggest hot ➞ the hottest adjectives that end in -y the + … -ier happy ➞ the happiest early ➞ the earliest adjectives with two or more syllables the + most + adjective modern ➞ the most modern interesting ➞ the most interesting irregular adjectives good ➞ the best bad ➞ the worst far ➞ the furthest
- We often use in after superlatives. This is the highest mountain in the country. Sydney is the biggest city in Australia.
Elementary
Grammar reference Basic 06 Holidays
going to
We use going to
- to talk about future plans She’s going to be a scientist when she grows up.
- when we can see that something is sure to happen in the future Look at those clouds. It’s going to rain. We often use going to with future time expressions, e.g. tomorrow, next week, next year , etc.
going to form
We use the verb be + going to + infinitive.
positive
I
’m (am) going to study tonight. He She It ’s (is) We You They ’re (are)
negative
I
’m not (am not) going to study tonight. He She It isn’t (is not) We You They ’re not (are not)
question
Am I going to be late? Is he she it Are we you they
positive negative
Yes, I am. No,
I
’m not. (am not) he she it is. he she it isn’t. (is not) we you they are. we you they aren’t. (are not) Sometimes we start the question with a question word. What are you going to do at the weekend? How long are you going to stay in China? We don’t often use go and come with going to. Are you going to go to Spain? Are you going to Spain? I’m going to come back. I’m coming back.
Elementary
Grammar reference Basic 06 Art, music and films (continued)
Sometimes we start the question with a question word. Where have you been? How long have you lived here?
Past participles
For regular verbs, the past simple and the past participle are the same. Infinitive Past simple Past participle ask live asked lived asked lived For some irregular verbs, the past simple form and the past participle are the same. Infinitive Past simple Past participle buy find bought found bought found But some irregular verbs have a different past participle. Infinitive Past simple Past participle begin do give began did gave begun done given The verb go has two past participles: been and gone. They have different meanings. She’s gone to the beach. (she’s still there now) She’s been to the beach. (she has now returned)
